Arm rests on work benches

[dollm8kr2002]

I reread the responses that came from a discussion on the best bench
and read the book. I am seeing mention of arm rests as a nice
addition to the work bench but not seeing these in any of the
photos. Can you all who have these describe them to me as to how
attached, how are they used, etc?

thx
brenda

[Mark_Parkinson3]

Hi Brenda, The Otto Frei bench in the attached image (a wonderful
bench by the way) shows two arm rests, one on either side, under the
bench top. They are just long (about 20") smooth, rectangular boards
that pull out as desired. There are two L-shaped wooden brackets for
each arm rest, one facing either direction, screwed to the underside
of the top to create the slot for the arm rest. It’s a pretty simple
design, which is often the best design.

I really don’t use my arm rests very often, but it is nice to be
able to rest your elbow when you are preforming a task that requires
your arm to be elevated for an extended period of time.

Another nice feature to consider is a “bread board” that pulls out
above the drawers. It’s handy to be able to pull it out to create
work space for a quick sketch or a place to put your ham and cheese
sandwich when the rest of your bench is covered with other stuff!

http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep80db

Hope that helps,
Mark

[Noel_Y]

The arm rests on my bench at work are two boards, maybe 3"x8", that
are attached under the top of the bench by a single bolt. That was,
they rotate, and can be tucked all the way under the bench if I want
them out of the way.

For me, having a surface a couple of inches lower than the bench is
often handy, but their main use is to steady my wrists on when I am
doing finicky small work, since I have what is called “benign
essential tremor”, meaning sometimes my hands are pretty shaky. I am
frequently called on to do inscriptions inside rings, written very
tiny with a tiny ball bur, so I need to keep my hands steady any way
I can.

Noel

[John_Donivan]

Can you all who have these describe them to me as to how attached,
how are they used, etc? 

After a nice long weekend in the hills… There are various times
when you need to work with your arm raised - flex shaft, setting,
whatever. Lots of times. On your standard jeweler’s benchat the
standard height there is, of course, your bench top which most people
can lay their elbow on to work. The problem with that is that
raisingyour arm to that height for long periods pinches a nerve under
your shoulder - I don’t know the names of them and such - and makes
your arm and wristgo numb which takes weeks if not months to recover
from. Been there, done that. The armrest lets you raise your elbow
just enough, but not so much that it pinches the nerve, so you can
work for long periods. It’s not just convenience, it’s ergonomics
from before the word was invented.

[John_Donivan]

Can you all who have these describe them to me as to how attached,
how are they used, etc? 

After a nice long weekend in the hills… There are various times
when you need to work with your arm raised - flex shaft, setting,
whatever. Lots of times. On your standard jeweler’s benchat the
standard height there is, of course, your bench top which most
people can lay their elbow on to work. The problem with that is that
raisingyour arm to that height for long periods pinches a nerve
under your shoulder - I don’t know the names of them and such - and
makes your arm and wristgo numb which takes weeks if not months to
recover from. Been there, done that. The armrest lets you raise your
elbow just enough, but not so much that it pinches the nerve, so you
can work for long periods. It’s not just convenience, it’s
ergonomics from before the word was invented.

[Barbara_Ettles]

Just for info - I have a chronic injury from an accident and was
working for hours at a computer. I purchased a set of arm rests in an
assisted living store and they were fabulous - moved with me and
comfortable. There are a lot like the one pictured here - but a
set…

Barbara with the birds singing in advance of rain